Recovery
by Rangergirl3
Summary: It takes a team. A very, very, very nerdy team. Latest (21st) in the Lost Paladins series. (or) Also: Shiro's birthday /is/ actually next week (or it would be, if it were a leap year. He's never going to live this one down). Readers, I promised you fluff. Here it is. Take it. Take it all. :-)
1. Cookies

Oh, you knew this had to happen. Also, Shiro's birthday /is/ next week. Or it would be, if it were a leap year.

He's never going to live that down. :-)

* * *

While Lance was in the healing pod, Hunk baked cookies non-stop. Even after his friend woke up, and they all were able to see for themselves that he was well on his way to recovery, Hunk kept baking.

He was with Lance all the time when the Blue Paladin was awake, but whenever Lance was asleep - which was pretty often, in the two days after he got out of the healing pod - Hunk mostly just stayed in the kitchen.

The others all came in to the kitchen at one point or another, more to keep him company than to help with the baking.

Mostly, they seemed to just want to be near him, and to make sure he was doing okay.

Hunk didn't feel like he was doing okay. He'd almost lost his best friend to the witch, and he felt that maybe, if he'd been smarter, or faster, he could have helped Lance more.

Allura and Coran both assured him - repeatedly - that with Keith's help, they had been able to _completely_ undo the spell Haggar placed on Lance, and Blue, and that after a few more days of rest, Lance would be back to his normal levels of energy.

Hunk trusted them, and the others.

But Hunk still felt useless and stupid, so he just kept making food for everyone all the same.

It was the only way he felt he could help.

* * *

On the second day, when Keith finally came into the kitchen, Hunk dropped the tray he was holding and gave the Red Paladin a huge hug.

"Wh-" Keith started to ask, but Hunk just kept his arms wrapped around Keith, and the Red Paladin seemed to catch on.

"…oh…." he said, and when Keith awkwardly returned the hug, Hunk sniffed and said, in a muffled voice,

"Thanks, man."

Keith patted his back. "Sure, Hunk. Anytime. I'm not - really - very cuddly - but - uh - yeah…I know you are…so…"

Hunk half-laughed and squeezed Keith a little bit tighter. "No, man, I meant - uh - for the rescue-"

"- oh, sure - uh - Hunk -"

"-I mean, you went into the _Druid's_ _ship_ and got my best friend in the whole _world_ out of a totally horrible situation and - and then you helped lift that really creepy spell and -"

"- _Hunk_ -"

"- I just don't know what I would have done if - if - I just - I owe you _big_ time, man! How can I - "

Keith's voice was strained, but there seemed to be an element of laughter to it as well.

" - breathing - would - be nice -"

Hunk yelped and immediately released Keith, who staggered back a step and leaned against the kitchen counter to catch his breath.

"Oh man, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, sometimes I don't - oh, man, Keith, I'm sorry - are you okay -"

But Keith was laughing. "…yeah…Hunk…I'm fine - really, I am."

When Keith looked back at him, Hunk saw that the Red Paladin was completely genuine. The Yellow Paladin sniffed and wiped one hand across his face. "Okay. Okay. But seriously, man, thanks. I - uh - know that - sometimes I'm not the fastest - or - the smartest - but - but if you ever need anything - you - you let me know, okay?"

Keith shrugged, but Hunk could tell it wasn't a 'you could never do anything to help me' shrug. It was a 'okay, no problem,' shrug.

Keith wasn't really big on saying things, most of the time.

Then Hunk went back to baking, and he heard Keith tell him that Lance should be back to normal pretty soon.

"Allura says that Blue's doing better, too," Keith said, and Hunk nodded, concentrating on making sure this latest batch of cookies didn't burn.

"-though there might be - some - fluxes or something - so basically, if anything weird happens around Lance or Blue - it's to be expected. Allura says it won't be dangerous - or anything - just - you know - interesting."

Hunk turned in time to see Keith pick up the container the batter had been in, squinting at the lettering on the label. For a second, Hunk thought Keith didn't want to talk anymore, but then the Red Paladin glanced up at him.

"Hunk…you can _read_ _Altean_?"

"What? Oh - uh - well - maybe - a little - I figured that we had all this time on our hands…so…"

Keith sat the container back on the countertop, still looking at him.

"…Hunk…you do know that outside of the _Alteans_ …none of us know how to read their language, _right_?"

Hunk blinked in some confusion. "Well…I mean…I guess none of us are _fluent_ \- but - "

Keith shook his head. "No, Hunk, listen. You - a _human_ from _Earth_ \- are making an _Altean_ dish from an _Altean_ recipe in an _Altean_ Castle. You're pretty fucking smart."

Hunk shrugged. "Food's just - easy for me, you know? I can just - uh - I can concentrate on how it can - you know - bring us together."

Keith nodded, folded his arms, and leaned his back against a row of cupboards. "Yeah. I think I understand."

Hunk glanced over at him as he went back to mixing and baking the cookies. "You do?"

Keith wasn't looking directly at him when he spoke, but Hunk could tell the Red Paladin was really trying to focus on what he was saying. "It's - uh - it's something you can do that - that - that feels - natural. It's not from a science fiction movie."

Hunk laughed at that. He couldn't stop himself.

"Yeah - sometimes it feels like we're in one, doesn't it?"

Keith stretched. "Amen to _that_."

Hunk saw that Keith was half-smiling again. He did that a lot more than he used to. Hunk offered his friend a cookie even as he said, without thinking,

"I guess - it's even stranger - for you, I mean…"

But Keith didn't seem insulted, and he didn't pull away. He just accepted the cookie and shrugged.

"What, you mean me being half-alien? Or being related to the real-life version of Baba Yaga?"

Hunk shuddered. "Oh, dude, I - "

But Keith shrugged again. "Hunk, it's fine. Really. I just - uh - "

Keith looked down at the floor and didn't look directly at Hunk when he said it, but Hunk heard the honesty in Keith's voice when he spoke again.

"- I'm - just - really glad that - uh - you guys are my family - instead of her."

Hunk thought that maybe it was time for another hug, but instead, he refrained and just patted Keith's shoulder reassuringly.

"Of course we are," he said, and when Keith looked up at him, Hunk saw the relief in his friend's eyes, so Hunk nodded and patted Keith's shoulder again. "Of _course_ we're your family, Keith."

A little head poked in around the doorway, and Beyris scampered into the kitchen.

"I heard 'family'!" she said, running over to stand beside them. " _And,_ I smelled cookies!"

Both the Red and Yellow Paladins grinned down at her, and Keith offered her the cookie he was holding.

"I'm on the way to training deck," he explained to Hunk. "Shouldn't eat right before I start - but hey, save me some, okay?"

As Keith turned to leave, he reached out a hand and flipped Beyris' braid over her head so that her hair fell into her eyes. She giggled and flipped it back into place. He did it again, and she did too.

After a few more times, Hunk had to smile as he saw Keith throw one hand up in the air in an exaggerated 'fine I give up' gesture, and Beyris hopped up and down in victorious glee as Keith left the room.

"Don't get injured!" she called after him, and just as he turned the corner, Keith shot back an insulted look that made Hunk laugh for the first time in three days.

* * *

"Since when does everyone just _assume_ I'm going to get - " Keith muttered to himself, but then he heard a mouse squeak reprovingly by his head, and he glanced up to see Platt waving an admonishing paw down at him from a grate.

"Oh, like I _try_ to!" Keith shot back at the mouse, who squeaked in a regal, 'mmmm-hhhmmmm' manner and disappeared back into the vents. Keith kept muttering to himself as he headed down the corridors, heedless of who might hear him.

"-frickin' mice - frickin' red shirt syndrome - I'm not even doing anything stupid half the time - okay - some of the - most - of the - oh, _shit_."

Keith stopped walking and slammed a hand into his forehead.

" _I_ ** _am_** _a_ ** _fucking_** _red shirt."_

He realized he was still talking out loud to himself and looked around.

"I really hope nobody heard that."

A very interested voice came on over the monitors near him, and Keith jumped in place at the sound of Pidge's voice.

"Heard what?"

"Damn it, Pidge! What are you, _GLaDOS_?!"

Pidge sniffed haughtily. "As if. I actually _have_ a sense of humor."

Keith rolled his eyes, but he was smiling as he did so. He started down the hall again. Shiro had said he would train with Keith today, and Keith didn't want to be late.

"You know, it's strange, to actually have someone understand what I'm referencing - usually people just look at me like I'm _crazy_ \- "

Pidge's voice was fond, if still a little irritating because of her tone of absolute glee.

"Aw, Keith, don't delude yourself. You _are_ crazy - but you're _our_ kind of crazy - so at least you're in good company. Anyway, it's not like it's a bad thing to be crazy. It makes life _way_ more fun."

The Red Paladin snorted, but he wasn't annoyed.

Hunk had said they were his family.

Maybe this was what family did.

A thought came into his mind as he came into view of the training deck.

"Pidge - are your dad and brother out of the healing pods yet?"

He heard the excitement in Katie's voice when she answered.

"Oh, yeah, they'll be waking up any minute now! I'm just passing the time till they do by bugging you - "

"Mmm-hmm." Keith said. "Right. Well, glad I could be of assistance, GLaDOS."

Pidge's tone was genuinely annoyed now. "I told you, I'm _not_ GLaDOS."

"Wheatley, then?"

"Pssssh, as _if_ , Pyro. You're going to have to do better."

Keith grinned as he saw Shiro come onto the training deck.

"I'm sure I'll think of something."

* * *

While Shiro and Keith were in the training room, Matt and Sam's healing cycle ended. Pidge filled them in on what had happened, and after that, Matt stayed with Katie, and Sam came into the kitchen and started talking to Hunk. He had been looking for the Alteans, but they had needed to finish something on the main bridge first.

As he waited for them, Sam began to talk with Hunk, and Hunk thought that Katie had a pretty cool guy for a dad.

Hunk hadn't really known his own dad, growing up, but he thought that it would have been nice to have one like Sam Holt. He was smart, but also kind, and he treated you like he cared about what you had to say, if you wanted to say anything, and he wouldn't pressure you to say anything if you didn't feel like it, and he didn't seem to mind at all that all the while, Hunk nodded and listened and mixed more cookie batter.

"…I'll be honest…it's going to take some time for me to…adjust to…well…"

Sam sighed and tapped his fingers on the table, seeming to look at something far away and long ago.

Hunk started to scoop out more cookies and put them onto the baking sheet. "Um, Doctor Holt? Could I maybe - say something?"

Sam nodded. "Of course."

Hunk kept working as he spoke. He found the familiar actions helpful in pulling his thoughts together. "…I know that…you knew Keith's parents…and that it must be really, really hard for you to find all this out…like this...but…um…I'm sure that I speak for the team when I say that…we're here for you...and Matt, too."

Sam looked back up at Hunk, and the Yellow Paladin continued. "And - and - Keith's - a pretty cool guy. He doesn't - really say it - out loud - but - uh - I _know_ that he would take a bullet for any member of the team."

Sam half-chuckled at that, but it was fond sound, not a bitter or dismissive one.

"I have to say, that doesn't surprise me. His father was…very much like that, actually."

Hunk looked up at that, interested. " _Really_?"

Sam nodded. "Oh, yes. Kenneth was - extremely loyal. He was a good friend."

Hunk saw that Sam had really cared for Kenneth, and he thought of something that maybe, just maybe, could help both Sam and Keith.

"Yeah, I bet he was…um…Dr. Holt?"

Sam looked back at him. "Yes, Hunk?"

Hunk swallowed, but he thought this was important, so he went on with his question.

"…do you think - maybe - at some point - you could…I don't know…maybe tell Keith that, too? I don't think he remembers a lot about his parents…and if you'd ever…you know…want to talk to him about them…I'm sure he'd love it."

Sam blinked at that, a bit rapidly. "Yes. Yes, I'm sure I could - do that - at some point - "

Hunk began to stir the batter again, and he used the motion to push a box of tissues towards Sam with one elbow. Sam gave him a grateful look, took one, and wiped his eyes, and then his glasses.

Hunk waited a little bit, and then offered Pidge's dad a cookie, fresh from the oven.

"You're…going to have to tell me if they're any good," he said, and Sam raised an eyebrow inquisitively, but he was smiling, too.

"Oh?"

Hunk nodded. "I've been trying out different baking times, so if that one's too crunchy, I've got a few other kinds you can try, too! It's no problem if you don't like that one - I've made - "

He glanced back at the counter and felt his jaw drop open.

"Oh, wow, uh, I guess I made a lot, huh?"

He heard Sam chuckle, and turned to see Pidge's father was still smiling. He was nibbling on the cookie, but he seemed to find it delicious.

"I'm guessing…somewhere between fifteen batches, eh?"

Hunk scratched at the back of his neck. "Hmm…well…I guess we'll have enough for awhile…too bad there are only eleven of us on this ship now, though. It would have been nice to share it with those other prisoners we rescued -"

Sam shrugged. "Well, it can't be helped."

He reached out and patted Hunk's shoulder reassuringly as he continued. "From what Pidge tells me, by the time you started this baking project, they were all out of their cryo-pods and on their way back to their families. I'm sure they would have appreciated the gesture, but - "

Here Sam Holt took on a humorous air of noble self-sacrifice and made an exaggerated salute.

"One Science Officer, reporting for duty!"

Hunk grinned and returned the over-the-top salute with his spatula.

"Yes, sir! Mission: Help me figure out what to do with these cookies!"

Sam thought for a bit, and then he got a really, really big smile on his face.

"Hunk. I just had a _brilliant_ idea."

Hunk saw where Pidge got her mischievous grin from, and he found himself looking forward to whatever devious plan Sam Holt was concocting.

"Now, listen, I think we'll need to get everyone in on this."


	2. Space Soundtrack

Keith knew the second Lance was feeling more like his old self.

It was impossible not to, because the Blue Paladin's voice - if a little more raspy than normal, was back to its' usual exuberance.

"GOOOOOD MOOOOOOOOOOORNING, CAAAAAAAAAASTLE!"

Keith and Shiro had just finished sparring in the training room, and at the sound of Lance's cheerful voice over the Castle's sound system, they both turned and sprinted for the door that lead to the Blue Paladin's sick room.

"He shouldn't be yelling like that," Shiro muttered, and Keith just nodded in agreement as they ran towards the infirmary as Lance continued, seeming completely unfazed.

"So, I hear that some of you have been a little down lately, and I thought I would help you all feel better by playing some of my favorite tunes -"

"Oh, _God_ ," Keith said, and he took a corner too fast and nearly slammed into the wall.

"Don't _you_ go getting injured," Shiro said over his shoulder, and Keith just growled in response as he caught up to his brother.

"I have _no_ intention of - " he started, but Lance's voice drowned him out.

"-STARTING WITH - BAD ROMANCE!"

At the mention of the song, Shiro swore vehemently, and Keith tried to put on an extra burst of speed. Then another click sounded, and Pidge's voice sounded over the sound system. Shiro guessed she'd connected in from her Lion's bay, where she'd been working on making more cloaking devices for their Lions. She sounded like she was torn between laughter, concern, and a genuine horror of getting the song stuck in her head.

"LANCE - DON'T YOU _FUCKING_ DARE-"

Then another click sounded, and Matt joined in, almost gleefully cheerful at how horrified all the other Paladins were at the prospect of listening to this at full volume throughout the entire Castle.

"Lance - _quick_ , start the song! I can keep her out of the sound system long enough to-"

As Pidge started telling her brother that 'oh, bring it, Neo, I've got _moves_ ,' the song started to play, and Shiro swore again, looking up at the monitors as he and Keith ran towards the recovery room the Blue Paladin was in.

"DAMN IT, MATT!" he shouted, and Keith found it was hilarious to see Shiro _this_ annoyed at something _so_ stupid. "NOT AGAIN!"

Matthew Holt sounded downright smug as he brought his face up on one of the wall monitors as they ran by.

"Oh, come _on_ , Takashi," he said, and Shiro and Keith saw the door in front of them seal shut as they approached, effectively keeping them from getting to Lance's room and shutting off the song, "It's freaking _awesome_ to annoy you every once in a while-"

Shiro came to a stop, just in time to keep from running into the door, and he was panting, one eye twitching.

"… _damn_ it, Matt…"

From the viewscreen in the hallway, Matt grinned at him cheerfully. "Shiro, Shiro, _Shiro_ \- when I pull this crazy techno shit, I _insist_ that you call me Handsome Jack."

Meanwhile, Lance was belting out the lyrics with almost impressive talent, and in a chair by his bed, Matt was clearly typing on some sort of device he held, intent on keeping Katie out of the sound system and door controls for as long as possible, but he seemed in genuine good humor as he did so.

" _Damn_ , Katie, I should call you Hardison," he said, and Katie made a pleased sound at the compliment.

"Why, thank you, Chaos," she said, and Matt grinned. It was clear they were enjoying this battle of the keyboard, and despite himself, Keith found himself laughing, and he had to lean against the wall. Shiro shot him a look, and Keith saw that his brother seemed resigned, and though he was annoyed, he didn't seem truly mad.

"…you…really…hate this song, huh?" Keith managed, and Shiro just rolled his eyes and started to bang his right fist against his head in a 'why me' gesture, over and over and over. The song was almost half-way through now.

"Matt did this on the Kereberus trip, too," he growled. "I had it stuck in my head for _days_ -"

From the viewscreen, Matt was nodding, grinning, looking throughly pleased with himself.

"Oh, your reaction was a thing of beauty. I think I got it on camera - hey, Katie, didn't I send that to you?"

Sam's voice clicked in over the sound system, then, and his voice was wry, but humorous at the same time.

"Oh, I remember that - I have to admit, it _was_ pretty funny-"

Just as the song ended, and Lance went into fits of hilarity, the door in front of Keith and Shiro hissed open, and Matt's face took on a pleased and tentative look as he looked up from his screen and saw Shiro coming through the door, headed straight for him.

"Well done, Padawan," he said, and then Shiro reached him, and Matt's keyboard was firmly pulled out of his hands.

Pidge's voice sounded then, and she sounded highly satisfied with herself.

"Hah, take that, Handsome Jack. I just totally crashed you onto that - planet - thing - "

"Pandora," Matt supplied, rising from his chair and jumping, trying to get back his keyboard from Shiro. Shiro held it high above his head with his left hand.

"Aw, come on, Takashi!" Matt said, jumping for it again without success.

"I _could_ just break it," Shiro said, but Keith could tell his brother was smiling, and really had no intention of destroying Matt's keyboard.

Matt jumped again, growling, and then Shiro _really_ grinned down at him, holding it even higher.

"Or I guess I _could_ just do this…." he said, and Matt took a deep breath. He could see that his friend enjoyed teasing him this way. Well, after all, teasing was a two-way street.

 _Damn it._

Why did life have to be _fair_?

" _Give_ , Takashi," he growled, and Shiro chuckled. "Uh-huh. Well, I've just got one condition."

Matt folded his arms.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, no more 'Bad Romance'."

Shiro waited until Matt rolled his eyes and nodded, and then Shiro handed him the keyboard again.

"See? That wasn't so-"

With an almost maniac grin of 'Gotcha!' Matt hit another key, and another song began to blare.

This time, it was 'Boom Clap'.

Even as Shiro let out a curse and reached out for Matt and the keyboard again, a particle barrier shimmered into place over Lance and Matt's side of the room, leaving Shiro and Keith were stuck on the other side.

Shiro stopped moving, his eyes going wide, and Keith knew that it wasn't completely out of shock. There was a good deal of astonishment in the look, too.

Lance's Lion was projecting a particle barrier over her pilot.

This was…something none of them had ever, _ever_ seen before.

"Apparently," Lance said cheerfully, "Blue likes the song."

Shiro groaned and leaned against a nearby wall, covering his face with one hand. Keith listened for a few more seconds, and then he shrugged.

"Eh," he said. "This one's not so bad."

Shiro shot him a very resigned look. "Try saying that after the twentieth time. _Straight_."

Keith's mouth dropped open in what could have been real horror, and he shot Matt and Lance of such honest trepidation, both of them had to hold their sides.

"Ahahaha! Your face, Kogane! It's fricking _priceless_!"

"You look - you look - like we're going to - brainwash you or something!"

"AREN'T YOU?!" Keith snarled, looking over the particle barrier in a vain effort to locate a weak spot. This was funny, sure, but _stars_ \- twenty times in a _row_?!

"How do we stop it?!" he asked Shiro, who shrugged. "Now that Blue's joined in…"

Then he stopped talking and looked at Keith.

"Hey. Nightcrawler. You thinking what I'm thinking?"

Keith grinned.

"Way ahead of you."

Matt fell out of his chair with surprise when Keith appeared right next to his chair, inside the barrier.

"WHAT THE -"

Lance just yawned. He was used to this by now.

"You just - how did you - "

Keith leaned down a little to look at the list of music Matt was playing even as he spoke.

"Technically, Blue _let_ me in. So, I didn't just bust in. I just used - a door that only I can use - which is teleportation - "

Still bobbing his head in time to the beat, Lance scratched one side of his face and yawned again."

"Yup - he's basically a mutant-"

" _No_ ," Keith growled. "I'm _not_ a mutant. I'm Part. Alien."

"True, true." Lance stretched lazily, grinning as he did so. "I guess if we want to get _crazy_ technical, you're half-human, three-parts Galra, and one-part Altean."

"That's eighths, Lance," Keith supplied. "I'm three- _eighths_ Galra, and one- _eighth_ Altean."

From the other side of the barrier, the three of them saw Shiro tap the barrier a few times, like he was knocking. He seemed curious as to what Keith was doing, just standing there, instead of stopping the music or -

Then Keith grinned widely at Shiro, and Shiro's face settled into a resigned expression. He sighed and crossed his arms over his chest again, leaning against the wall.

"Should have known," he grumbled, and Lance looked over at Keith in growing delight.

"Waitwaitwait - _you're_ going to help us _prank_ _Shiro_?!"

Keith pointed at another song on Lance's list.

"He _really_ hates that one."

Matt climbed back into his chair, seeming to relax once he saw that Keith wasn't going to try and stop the music, and cued it up.

When 'Dynamite' started playing, Shiro gave Keith a very level look that promised retribution at some point in the near future. When he spoke, his tone was very even and calm.

"You _do_ know you all have to come out from behind that barrier _sometime_ today, _right_?"

Lance nodded, cheerfully, and gave Shiro a big thumbs up. "But I'm _injured_ , Shiro - you can't hurt an injured comrade who just wants to listen to some of his favorite songs!"

"And I'm still _recovering_ from all _kinds_ of messed up shit," Matt said, completely deadpan, returning his gaze to the list of songs he had apparently cued up for this very devious plot. "What kind of _horrible_ person would do something to me, after _all_ that?"

Shiro glared at them both and made an annoyed sound back in his throat.

Keith shrugged, grinning one of his rare grins, and spread his arms wide.

"I just wanted to mess with you, Takashi. I have _no_ viable excuse _whatsoever_."

Shiro growled at him, and if it were possible, Keith's grin became even more mischevious.

"Oh, Takashi…stop acting like you're… _six_."

Shiro made another annoyed sound, closed his eyes, and slammed the back of his head back against the wall with each word.

"I. Am. Not. Six."

Keith looked over at Lance and Matt, who were staring back at him with a look of sheer delight. Lance sat up straighter in bed, and Matt was grinning as if Christmas had come earlier.

"Oh my GOD! Takashi, how could I forget?! YOU'RE A LEAP YEAR BABY!"

Shiro's shoulders slumped in resignation, and he looked up towards the monitor where Pidge's delighted face had just appeared. She gone to the bridge and opened up a direct channel so the rest of them could join in. The Green Paladin was grinning so widely, the Black Paladin could see all of her teeth.

"OH MY GOD! SHIRO IS THE _YOUNGEST_! HAHA, I _KNEW_ IT! I _KNEW_ THE UNIVERSE WOULD EVEN THE ODDS!"

"What's going on?" Coran asked, poking his head into the screen next to Pidge's face.

"Yeah! What's going on?!" There was Beyris, poking her head into the other corner of the scrren, two of the mice scampering up onto her shoulders.

In the screen's background, Shiro saw Allura, Rayzor, and Aurelis all turn towards him with curiosity on their faces, and Keith could hear his brother sigh in resignation and begin explaining.

" _Stars_ …okay, all it means is that because of the way the Earth turns, once every four years, there's an extra day in our year."

Coran's eyebrows shot into the air. "That sounds - well, to be honest, I've never heard of such a thing before - "

Pidge joined in then, excitement making her jump and and down in her chair.

"- _And_ \- because the kids born on that day _technically_ only get a birthday once every four years - Shiro's actually _six_!"

Shiro saw Allura start to laugh, and he gave Pidge a very level look.

"Oh, come _on_ , Pidge, it's not like I don't _age_ \- that's just - Allura, what's so funny?"

Allura was wiping a tear from her eye as she replied, laughter still coloring her voice.

"Oh, stars, I just thought of you, but so - _so much younger_ \- and shorter - and oh, Shiro, it was absolutely adorable - you must have been absolutely beyond cute -"

Shiro mumbled something and looked away from her, the tips of his ears going bright red.

"-yeah - well - uh - ahem - uh - "

Beyris jumped up and down excitedly. "Oh! Oh! If Shiro is six, then I'm only one year behind him!"

Both Aurelis and Rayzor glanced down at Beyris and started trying hard not to laugh as Shiro sighed and put one hand over his face, dragging it down and glaring back over at Keith as he did so.

"I _swear_ , Keith, sometimes it's like you know _exactly_ what to do to get under my skin."

Keith smiled again, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the side of Lance's bed.

" _Takashi_ , you're my _brother_. It's part of the job description."

Matt raised a fist, and Keith gave him a fist-bump. Then Matt blinked and looked at Keith, as if he had just thought of something interesting and wanted to run it by Keith.

"…Hey, Keith, you think it's because you're part-Altean that you…uh…can sometimes change how you look?"

Keith looked over at him, surprised, but then he nodded. "Huh…you know, I'd never really thought about it before…but I guess it could be that…I mean, I never really mean to do it - it just - uh - happens-"

Lance was nodding, counting on his fingers. " _Matt_ , you're a _genius_ ," he said, and the other two looked at him as he continued. "I mean, it would make sense, right? Keith's dad was three quarters Galra, and one quarter Altean, and he was _gradually_ able to look human, but on that video, your mom said it took him, like, a whole month or something - "

Keith scratched the back of his neck. "Yeah…she did…maybe the Altean shape-shifting abilities become - harder to control if you're not a full-Altean? Shit - that's not really what I'm trying to say - "

Matt readjusted his glasses - Katie had practically somersaulted with happiness when she gave them to him - and offered a different way of saying it.

"Maybe it becomes less of an _conscious_ ability and more of - maybe more of an _instinctual_ one. It's not like you're any less Altean for not being able to shapeshift at will - it's just not as - malleable an ability as, say, Allura has, because she's full Altean. She can change her appearance in like, five seconds, and you…well…you don't really choose to change how you look. It's just what happens when you're under stress or something like that."

Matt gestured to the screen where Allura and Coran stood, and they both nodded in agreement with his hypothesis.

Keith nodded again. "That sounds about right. I really don't look all that different, anyway, when I do it - well…I mean, I know I get claws sometimes, or sharper teeth - but - um - mostly -"

Beyris jumped up and down in place like she knew the answer to a question. "-mostly your eyes go yellow! Not, like your entire eye - but your eyes change from dark purple to yellow!"

Rayzor leaned down and picked Beyris up. "Yes, Beyris, we know," he said, and then Beyris grabbed hold of her uncle's face, bonked their foreheads together, and proceeded to stare deeply into her uncle's eyes, her own wide as saucers and intently focused on his.

Aurelis sputtered in hopeless hilarity at the look at his friend's face. It was confused and utterly at a loss for what to do. It wasn't every day that the Council Member was rendered immobile with surprise, and whenever it happened, it was priceless to see.

"Uh…Beyris…what are you…"

"Uncle, don't move your head! I'm trying to see if your eyes change color!"

"Beyris, you _know_ they don't - what are you - "

Beyris screwed up her face in concentration, her eyes still wide and intently focused. "Mmmm….not seeing anything….mmmm….maybe….I should…try….making you laugh!"

" _What_?!"

Then Beyris imitated a gymnastics move that she'd seen in one of those movies and before anyone could do anything, she had scrambled up onto Rayzor's shoulders and was flipping up and over, down to the ground, landing in a ninja-pose, taking on a stance that absolutely screamed, 'Fight me!'

Rayzor just stared down at her as if she'd lost her mind, and she grinned up at him.

"Hiya!" she said, and Aurelis _lost_ it at that point. He fell off his chair, holding his sides and howling, and then Rayzor turned and growled at his old friend.

"Don't you start," he snarled, and Keith had to hand it to Beyris. She was a pretty good improvisor.

Under the cover of Beyris' over-the-top antics, Lance had told Keith about their plan to distract Shiro, and Keith had to admit, everyone had joined in whole-heartedly.

And here he was, thinking this was just more of the usual kind of crazy.

Right after they told him what to expect, Beyris started doing cartwheels.

Shiro was staring at Beyris's antics like he thought she'd lost her mind, but Keith recognized that was the signal that everything was ready. The mice must have signaled her from the air vents to let her know that Hunk and Sam must be done with their part of the plan.

Just then, the song finished, and Blue purred and let the particle barrier shimmer out of place.

* * *

List of songs referenced:

Bad Romance by Lady Gaga (it's a real ear worm)

Boom Clap by Charli XCX (in honor of Maychorian's Boom Crash series, which is absolutely superb)

Dynamite by Taio Cruz (it just happened to come on over my radio and I thought it was perfect)


	3. Celebration

Shiro started forwards, his face set into a 'okay, that is _it_ ' expression, but then Keith was able to jump forwards and grab him by the shoulders and keep him from reaching Matt.

" _Keith_ ," Shiro growled, but he wasn't actually trying very hard to get out of his brother's grip yet. Keith could tell because Shiro hadn't tried to put Keith into a real headlock yet.

" _Takashi_ ," Keith said, in that same tone of voice, still keeping him from reaching the laptop.

" _Matt_ ," Lance said, and Matt reached for his laptop with an absolutely stupid grin on his face.

" _Lance_ ," he said, and with that, Pidge's brother and the Blue Paladin both hit the button at the same time.

Shiro froze into place in surprise and confusion as a very familiar song from the Kereberus mission started to play over the Castle's sound systems.

It was 'Commander Shepherd'.

"What - the - " he started to say, but then Keith had teleported him to the ship's main bridge.

Keith was smirking now, and when Shiro looked over at him again, the Red Paladin punched him on the shoulder.

"Happy birthday, bro," he said, and then he vanished again, only to reappear an instant later with both Matt and Lance.

* * *

Shiro blinked in confusion and looked around at everyone, and then Allura was by his side. She was laughing as she kissed his cheek.

"We thought we should celebrate," she said, and Shiro turned to see Hunk was grinning widely and pointing to several hover-platters that held pyramids of cookies.

Matt reached up and adjusted his glasses. "Wow. So that teleporting...was…actually…pretty damn cool…"

Lance nodded in agreement as Keith helped him to set down in a nearby chair. The Blue Paladin looked absurdly pleased with how their plan had worked out. "Yeah…'s cool…huh?"

"You good?" Keith asked him, and Lance waved a hand airily. "Nothing that some fun with friends won't help with!" he said, and then everyone was surrounding both Lance and Shiro.

"It's a -hooray- _he's_ -better-and-yay- _you're_ -six-party!" Beyris told Shiro, beaming as she scurried over to stand by Lance and give his left leg a big hug. Lance reached down and flipped Beyris's braid up and into her eyes, and she grinned, shaking her head wildly from side to side so it smacked his knee.

"Yep, it's a Recovery/Birthday Party," Lance said, and then Beyris nodded back up at him, beaming.

"Yeah!"

Shiro was looking around at them, but mostly, he was looking at Lance.

"Lance…what the…"

Lance waved a hand. "Well, technically, it was Sam's idea - but I volunteered to be the one who kept your attention long enough for the others to set this up."

Matt adjusted his glasses again. "I'm sorry, _who_ knew which songs to play again to make Shiro lose focus? Me. Mua." He pointed at his chest. "This guy."

Lance waved a hand airily again. "True, true, but I had the vocal chords to shout that attention-grabbing entrance and start serenading you all. Let's not forget _that_."

Matt nodded, sagely, as if rendering a point to a fencing opponent. "This is true."

"Because when Matt sings, it sounds like a cat is dying," Pidge supplied, and at that, Matt turned and put his sister into a hug that was half-affectionate and half-headlock.

"Mmmm…well, _Katie_ , when _you_ sing - it's like - it's - like - uh - "

"Angels. Flights of angels," Katie supplied, wiggling out of her brother's grip with practiced ease and grinning widely. "I just - you know - don't do it often. Because otherwise, the angels would be _jealous_ \- and we can't have that now, can we?"

When Matt spoke again, it was in a half-whisper, meant only for Katie.

"Look, let's not sing the happy birthday song, okay? I don't think Shiro would like it. He _really_ hates it when people make a big deal out of it - "

When Katie replied, she was nodding. "Yeah, I figured. I told the others already - we're just all going to - hug him, or something. Come on."

With that, everyone swarmed both Lance and Shiro, giving them hugs and, in Lance's case, a lot of gentle thumps on the back.

It was a good party.

Everyone had _plenty_ of cookies.

* * *

The song that is referenced above is 'Commander Shepherd' by Miracle of Sound. It's easily one of the best songs I've ever heard.

Aw, cuteness. I just wanted to give you guys some fluff before another wave of angst.


End file.
